Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 66
Nothing," replied Striped Chipmunk, at whom Grandfather Frog happened to be looking when he asked the question.
「何もありません」と縞リスが答えました。おじいさんカエルは質問をしたとき、ちょうど縞リスを見ていたのでした。
"Right!" replied Grandfather Frog. "And now you know why Miner the Mole lives under ground--because he is perfectly happy and satisfied there."
「その通り！」とおじいさんカエルが答えました。「これで、なぜモグラのマイナーが地下に住んでいるかがわかりましたね――そこにいると、完全に幸せで満足しているからです。」
Just then up came Peter Rabbit, all out of breath.
ちょうどそのとき、ピーター・ラビットが息を切らしてやってきました。
"Has Grandfather Frog been telling a story?" he panted.
「おじいさんカエルがお話をしていたの？」と彼は息をはずませながら言いました。
"Yes," replied Striped Chipmunk, winking at Grandfather Frog, "and now we are going back home perfectly happy and satisfied."
「ええ」と縞リスはおじいさんカエルにウィンクしながら答えました。「そして今、私たちは完全に幸せで満足して家に帰るところです。」
And to this day Peter Rabbit wonders what the story was that he missed.
そして今日に至るまで、ピーター・ラビットは自分が聞き逃したお話がどんなものだったのかと不思議に思っています。
X WHY MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK
X ヘビさんがウィンクできない理由
Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck were playing tag on the Green Meadows.
ピーター・ラビットとジョニー・チャックは緑の草原で鬼ごっこをして遊んでいました。
Of course Peter can run so much faster than Johnny Chuck that he would never have been "it" if he had tried his best to keep out of the way.
もちろん、ピーターはジョニー・チャックよりもずっと速く走れるので、本気で逃げようとすれば絶対に鬼になることはなかったでしょう。
But he didn't.
でも、そうしませんでした。
No, Sir, Peter Rabbit didn't do anything of the kind.
いいえ、ピーター・ラビットはそんなことはまったくしませんでした。
He pretended that one of his long hind-legs was lame so that he had to run on three legs, while Johnny Chuck could use all four.
彼は長い後ろ足の一本が不自由なふりをして、三本足で走らなければならないようにしました。一方、ジョニー・チャックは四本足全部を使えました。
It was great fun.
それはとても楽しいものでした。
They raced and dodged and twisted and turned.
二匹は走り回り、身をかわし、体をよじり、向きを変えました。
Sometimes Peter was so excited that he would forget and use all four legs.
ときにはピーターがあまりに興奮して、うっかり四本足全部を使ってしまうこともありました。
Then Johnny Chuck would shout "No fair!"
するとジョニー・チャックが「ずるい！」と叫びました。
Peter would say that he didn't mean to, and to make up for it would be "it" and try to catch Johnny.
ピーターはわざとじゃなかったと言い、その埋め合わせに自分が鬼になってジョニーを捕まえようとするのでした。
Vocabulary
- 何も
- nanimo — Nothing; not anything at all.
- あり
- ari — There is/are (stem form of ある).
- と
- to — Quotation particle; and; with.
- 縞
- shima — Stripe; striped pattern on an animal or fabric.
- リス
- risu — Squirrel; small tree-dwelling rodent.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 答え
- kotae — Answer; response to a question.
- おじいさん
- ojiisan — Grandfather; elderly man; old gentleman.
- カエル
- kaeru — Frog; small amphibian that jumps.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle highlighting sentence subject.
- 質問
- shitsumon — Question; inquiry posed to someone.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- とき
- toki — Time; moment; when something happens.
- ちょうど
- choudo — Exactly; just; precisely at that moment.
- 見
- mi — Seeing; looking (stem of 見る, to see).
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases together.
- の
- no — Possessive/nominalizing particle in Japanese grammar.
- その
- sono — That; that particular (noun modifier).
- 通り
- toori — That's right; exactly; as stated; street.
- これ
- kore — This; this thing (close to speaker).
- で
- de — By means of; at; with (particle).
- なぜ
- naze — Why; for what reason.
- モグラ
- mogura — Mole; small burrowing underground mammal.
- マイナー
- mainaa — Minor; lesser known; not mainstream.
- 地下
- chika — Underground; below ground level.
- に
- ni — Location/direction/time particle in Japanese grammar.
- 住ん
- sun — Living (in); residing (stem of 住む).
- いる
- iru — To be; to exist (animate beings).
- か
- ka — Question marker particle; or; whether.
- わかり
- wakari — Understanding; comprehension (stem of わかる).
- ね
- ne — Sentence-ending seeking agreement or confirmation.
- そこ
- soko — There; that place (near listener).
- 完全
- kanzen — Complete; perfect; total; absolute.
- 幸せ
- shiawase — Happiness; good fortune; contentment.
- 満足
- manzoku — Satisfaction; contentment; being fully pleased.
- から
- kara — Because; from; since (particle).
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is/am/are'.
- ラビット
- Rabitto — Rabbit; small furry hopping mammal.
- 息
- iki — Breath; breathing.
- 切らし
- kirashi — Running out of; having used up (breath).
- お話
- ohanashi — Story; tale; polite word for narrative.
- 彼
- kare — He; him; that male person.
- はずま
- hazuma — Bouncing; springing (stem of はずむ).
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions.
- 言い
- ii — Saying (stem of 言う, to say).
- ええ
- ee — Yes; that's right (casual affirmative).
- ウィンク
- winku — Wink; closing one eye as a signal.
- そし
- soshi(te) — And then; and so; thereupon.
- 今
- ima — Now; at this moment; currently.
- 私
- watashi — I; me; first-person singular pronoun.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people; we/they.
- 家
- ie — House; home; one's residence.
- 帰る
- kaeru — To return home; to go back.
- ところ
- tokoro — Place; point; just about to do.
- 今日
- kyou — Today; this day.
- 至る
- itaru — To reach; to arrive at; up to.
- まで
- made — Until; up to; as far as.
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; one's own self.
- 聞き逃し
- kikinogashi — Missing (hearing); failing to catch what was said.
- どんな
- donna — What kind of; what sort of.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; something.
- 不思議
- fushigi — Mystery; wonder; strange; mysterious thing.
- 思っ
- omot(te) — Thinking; feeling (stem of 思う).
- ます
- masu — Polite verb ending indicating present/future tense.
- ヘビ
- hebi — Snake; legless reptile.
- さん
- san — Polite honorific suffix used with names.
- でき
- deki — Can do; being able (stem of できる).
- ない
- nai — Not; negative adjective/verb ending.
- 理由
- riyuu — Reason; cause; explanation for something.
- 緑
- midori — Green; the color green.
- 草原
- sougen — Meadow; grassland; grassy open field.
- 鬼ごっこ
- onigokko — Tag; children's chasing game.
- 遊ん
- ason(de) — Playing; enjoying (stem of 遊ぶ).
- もちろん
- mochiron — Of course; naturally; certainly.
- より
- yori — Than; more than (comparative particle).
- も
- mo — Also; even; too (particle).
- ずっと
- zutto — Much more; far; all along; continuously.
- 速く
- hayaku — Quickly; fast; at high speed.
- 走れる
- hashireru — Can run; able to run fast.
- 本気
- honki — Seriously; earnestly; in earnest.
- 逃げよ
- nigeyou — Let's flee; intending to escape (volitional).
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'.
- 絶対
- zettai — Absolutely; definitely; without doubt.
- 鬼
- oni — It; the tagger in a chasing game.
- なる
- naru — To become; to turn into.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; event; nominalizer.
- でしょ
- desho — Right?; probably; I suppose (casual conjecture).
- でも
- demo — But; however; even so.
- そう
- sou — So; that way; like that.
- いいえ
- iie — No; a negative response.
- そんな
- sonna — Such; that kind of; like that.
- まったく
- mattaku — Completely; utterly; not at all (with negative).
- 長い
- nagai — Long; lengthy in size or duration.
- 後ろ足
- ushiroashi — Hind legs; back legs of an animal.
- 一本
- ippon — One (long/cylindrical object); one leg/stick.
- 不自由
- fujiyuu — Inconvenient; restricted; not free to use.
- な
- na — Adjectival/negative sentence-ending particle.
- ふり
- furi — Pretense; act of pretending; feigning.
- 三本足
- sanhonashi — Three-legged; using only three legs.
- 走ら
- hashira — Run (stem of 走る used with なければ).
- なけれ
- nakere — Must; have to (part of なければならない).
- なら
- nara — If; in that case; conditional form.
- よう
- you — Appears; seems; like; in order to.
- 一方
- ippou — On the other hand; meanwhile; one side.
- 四本足
- yonhonashi — Four-legged; using all four legs.
- 全部
- zenbu — All; everything; the whole amount.
- 使え
- tsukae — Can use; be able to use (potential).
- それ
- sore — That; that thing (near listener).
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite.
- 楽し
- tanoshi — Fun; enjoyable; delightful (stem form).
- 二匹
- nihiki — Two small animals (counter for animals).
- 走り
- hashiri — Running (stem of 走る, to run).
- 回り
- mawari — Going around; circling; surrounding area.
- 身
- mi — Body; one's self; one's person.
- かわし
- kawashi — Dodging; evading; ducking out of the way.
- 体
- karada — Body; physical body; one's physique.
- よじり
- yojiri — Twisting; contorting one's body.
- 向き
- muki — Direction; facing; orientation.
- 変え
- kae — Changing; altering (stem of 変える).
- あまり
- amari — Too much; so much that; excessively.
- 興奮
- kouun — Excitement; agitation; being worked up.
- うっかり
- ukkari — Carelessly; accidentally; absentmindedly.
- 使っ
- tsukatte — Using (te-form of 使う, to use).
- しまう
- shimau — To end up doing; to do regrettably.
- する
- suru — To do; to perform an action.
- ずるい
- zurui — Sneaky; sly; unfair; cunning.
- 叫び
- sakebi — Shout; cry out; exclamation (stem of 叫ぶ).
- わざと
- wazato — On purpose; deliberately; intentionally.
- じゃ
- ja — Well then; so; casual form of では.
- 埋め合わせ
- umeawase — Compensation; making up for; offsetting a disadvantage.
- 捕まえよ
- tsukamaeyou — Let's catch; intending to capture (volitional form).
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